(Poem) "Hope is that stubborn thing"

“Hope is that stubborn thing,” he started, 

And I missed the rest, 
Thinking of the other metaphors for hope.
Feathers.  Beacons.  Trees.
The trees kept me for a bit, and I kept hope in the branches:
Hope as tenuous strength;
Hope as wide-flung web;
Hope as blinding light--
A tall oak; 
A sleepy willow;
A flaming maple, respectively.
If hope is the sturdiness, agility, and color of a growing thing, 
Standing without announcement,
Then what is its stubborn start or counterpart?
A heath?  The trash if a photo were taken or a painting rendered?
The one trunk with bandy enough roots
To look ugly daily
But stubborn enough to hang onto, and to save a life in a flood
Of muddy water
Rising?

(Photo courtesy A.N. Erlandson, arborsmith.com)

Extra: Quest Literature

Yep, me again.  :)

Just a quick note for my faithful readers...times, they are a-changing at Notes.  In the coming weeks you will be seeing the regular iPod-driven selections ("That Song by Elvis, or, Long Live a City in the Desert," for example) interspersed with my personal favorite, more "quest" pieces.  And what will the quests be?

Well, one you already know...my Pablo stairs.  More updates on that to come.  And the other?

Adventures, dear reader, in setting books loose "in the wild."

This past week I donated my usual large stack of books to the Main branch of the San Francisco Public Library, and got a new reaction--the usual "Thanks much for donating, do you need a receipt?" (No, I don't; just take 'em and enjoy) was replaced with "In the future, can you take these to some depository place we have set up in the Mission?  Would that be convenient?"  Um, no, it would not, but I understand...it must be some sort of effort to keep costs down.  In that instant I had a flash of inspiration--lay off the library donations for a while, and go back to the BookCrossing gig.

Ah, you ask, what's BookCrossing?

Click on the links.  Go take a look.  I'll wait.  (Yes, it's free.  It's worldwide.  It's legit.)

Some of the posts will be my notes from releases, from searching for the "wild" books, and, if I'm lucky, an occasional find.

And you, dear reader, are invited to participate in my quest, as always.  You can:

• Read the adventure, and enjoy;
• If a book sounds good and YOU want to read it, I will mail it to you for you to release once you're done reading it, regardless of where you are (just tell me where you leave it);
• Or, search for or release a book in your neighborhood (WORLD-WIDE, people) and share your story of the literary equivalent of a "message in a bottle."

By the way, I don't work for BookCrossing.  This is designed to be, like Desert Solitaire and the writing marathon for 826 Valencia, JUST...PLAIN...FUN.

You game?

Onward, dear reader.

P.S. - Insert your own favorite tune here.  :)